Thursday 24 November 2016
Tuesday 22 November 2016
How are narrative techniques employed in Coldplay The Scientist
Coldplay's The Scientist is the second single from the bands second album, "A rush of blood to the head" which was released on the 4th of November 2002. The lyrics to the song tell a tale of a mans apology and his desire to love. The track was released as the second single from the album and peaked at number 10 in the UK charts. The song was later release in the United States as the third single from the album and climbed to 18th on the US Billboard modern rock tracks chart and number 34 on the Top 40 chart respectively. The song received critical acclaim with NME placing it at 37 on its list of "150 best tracks of the past 15 years" in October of 2011. Rolling Stone magazine also provided an accolade in the form of being placed at 54th in its list of "100 best songs of the decade".
The album itself did tremendously well with its sales figures, claiming the number 1 spot on the UK albums chart on its debut week moving 273,924 copies. The album has since been certified platinum 8 times in the UK for accumulating sales of over 2.8 million copies as of 2014 in the UK. It is Coldplay's best ever selling album, but the albums best accolade has to be the fact that as of March 2015 it ranks at the tenth best selling album of the 21st century. The album also did extremely well in the states with selling 144,000 copies in its first week. After being certified platinum 4 times in America the album has sold over 4,925,000 copies as of July 2014. The successes of the album doesnt stop in America however, along with being certified seven times platinum in Australia for sales of over 490,000 copies it has also gone platinum 4 times in Canada with over 400,000 sales.
The first narrative technique we see in the video is one of Roland Barthes narrative codes, "The enigma or hermeneutic code". This is used to set up major puzzles in pieces of media and is important as it used to hook the audience to want to continue watching so that they can not only enjoy predicting or trying to work out the answer to the puzzle but so that they can also have their assumptions disrupted by twists in the narrative creating a more complex story and enjoyable viewing experience. This narrative code is present in the first two shots of the video where Chris Martin is first pictured laying on his back on a mattress which is followed by Chris getting back to feet and gripping his arm to indicate that he is hurt.
The enigma is present here with the viewer trying to gather why Chris is in this position and what has happened to him to cause damage to his arm. A second enigma is also established by the way of the video being shot in reverse, this allows the viewer to know that Chris is at the end of his journey but leaves them wondering on how he got there and what the turn of events were that got him there. These two shots also establish that the video has a linear narrative, but that the order of events has been reversed.
As the video progresses to shot of Chris walking backwards in the opposite direction to the other people on screen at the time, a binary opposition is created. The binary opposition could connote that Chris actually died in the car crash at the start of story. This can be argued as earlier on in the video when he is on the mattress, the bmx rider bikes past him without paying him any attention, the pedestrians seem oblivious to his existence and the basketball players seem to have no quarrel with him walking across the court as they are playing. The binary opposition is then established as life and death leads onto the idea of the events following the car crash all being a part of a dream sequence.
The idea that Chris died and the video is a dream sequence would make sense of the fact that the video is shot in reverse, as it isn't typical of music videos to be shot this way. It also disconnects Chris from all the bystanders that are present throughout and alienates him. This is most obvious in the shot of the men playing basketball, and shows Christ to be alone whilst they are in a group, just as he walks in the opposite direction to the pedestrians.
A second narrative code is present in the video, the symbolic code, where feature of a story are used to represent wider ideas. In the video this is done through the use of Chris walking on the railway tracks.
Trains and their lines are used to connote moving from place to place, or in the case of this video, state to state. The inclusions of the junctions in the shot connote the change from life to death. This is further supported by the following shot, which would come first if not reversed, being Chris coming out from a forest. Trees are used to connote life as that is what they provide through producing oxygen, and the train lines show that Chris has changed from life to death.
The two shots also show how Chris is now alone in the world.
The third narrative code that is present is "The action of proairectic code" which makes complex actions readable through tiny details. The tiny detail which led to me believing that Chris died in the crash is the shot of him picking up his jacket and putting it back on as he leaves the woods and goes back towards the car, which in normal order would be him taking off his jacket.
Him taking off his black jacket symbolizes his death in the crash as it is the exact same thing his girlfriend does in the car which leads to her being without her seat belt on when the car crashes, which in turn leads to her being projected out of the car and dying. This is a tiny detail as the shot of the girl actually taking the jacket of goes so quick and I didn't notice this correlation the first few times of viewing. There is also colour symbolism present here with black representing death, both
jackets are black, and the car is black.
In this shot Chris is jumping into a pile of Autumn leaves and seems to be rather happy, not what you would expect from someone who has just been in a car crash. This is symbolic of Chris accepting what has happened and coming to peace with the events, which eventually leads to him falling onto a discarded mattress which we see at the beginning of the video. Following on from the idea of colour symbolism, the blackness of the woods symbolizes death where as Chris's white shirt symbolizes life, or it could be argued that the white shirt connotes heaven/
The video comes to an end with shots of Chris girlfriend dead on the floor going back into the car, with the glass forming back into the windscreen and the car ascending the hill before driving in reverse to a happy ending.
The album itself did tremendously well with its sales figures, claiming the number 1 spot on the UK albums chart on its debut week moving 273,924 copies. The album has since been certified platinum 8 times in the UK for accumulating sales of over 2.8 million copies as of 2014 in the UK. It is Coldplay's best ever selling album, but the albums best accolade has to be the fact that as of March 2015 it ranks at the tenth best selling album of the 21st century. The album also did extremely well in the states with selling 144,000 copies in its first week. After being certified platinum 4 times in America the album has sold over 4,925,000 copies as of July 2014. The successes of the album doesnt stop in America however, along with being certified seven times platinum in Australia for sales of over 490,000 copies it has also gone platinum 4 times in Canada with over 400,000 sales.
The first narrative technique we see in the video is one of Roland Barthes narrative codes, "The enigma or hermeneutic code". This is used to set up major puzzles in pieces of media and is important as it used to hook the audience to want to continue watching so that they can not only enjoy predicting or trying to work out the answer to the puzzle but so that they can also have their assumptions disrupted by twists in the narrative creating a more complex story and enjoyable viewing experience. This narrative code is present in the first two shots of the video where Chris Martin is first pictured laying on his back on a mattress which is followed by Chris getting back to feet and gripping his arm to indicate that he is hurt.
The enigma is present here with the viewer trying to gather why Chris is in this position and what has happened to him to cause damage to his arm. A second enigma is also established by the way of the video being shot in reverse, this allows the viewer to know that Chris is at the end of his journey but leaves them wondering on how he got there and what the turn of events were that got him there. These two shots also establish that the video has a linear narrative, but that the order of events has been reversed.
As the video progresses to shot of Chris walking backwards in the opposite direction to the other people on screen at the time, a binary opposition is created. The binary opposition could connote that Chris actually died in the car crash at the start of story. This can be argued as earlier on in the video when he is on the mattress, the bmx rider bikes past him without paying him any attention, the pedestrians seem oblivious to his existence and the basketball players seem to have no quarrel with him walking across the court as they are playing. The binary opposition is then established as life and death leads onto the idea of the events following the car crash all being a part of a dream sequence.
The idea that Chris died and the video is a dream sequence would make sense of the fact that the video is shot in reverse, as it isn't typical of music videos to be shot this way. It also disconnects Chris from all the bystanders that are present throughout and alienates him. This is most obvious in the shot of the men playing basketball, and shows Christ to be alone whilst they are in a group, just as he walks in the opposite direction to the pedestrians.
A second narrative code is present in the video, the symbolic code, where feature of a story are used to represent wider ideas. In the video this is done through the use of Chris walking on the railway tracks.
Trains and their lines are used to connote moving from place to place, or in the case of this video, state to state. The inclusions of the junctions in the shot connote the change from life to death. This is further supported by the following shot, which would come first if not reversed, being Chris coming out from a forest. Trees are used to connote life as that is what they provide through producing oxygen, and the train lines show that Chris has changed from life to death.
The two shots also show how Chris is now alone in the world.
The third narrative code that is present is "The action of proairectic code" which makes complex actions readable through tiny details. The tiny detail which led to me believing that Chris died in the crash is the shot of him picking up his jacket and putting it back on as he leaves the woods and goes back towards the car, which in normal order would be him taking off his jacket.
jackets are black, and the car is black.
Just before the shots of Chris gaining his jacket back, we are faced with a disruption in the chronology of the video. Throughout the entire video the time is during the day but at one point in the woods Chris is surrounding by darkness as if it were night time.
The video comes to an end with shots of Chris girlfriend dead on the floor going back into the car, with the glass forming back into the windscreen and the car ascending the hill before driving in reverse to a happy ending.
Tuesday 1 November 2016
Actors
ACTORS
When it came to choosing who we wanted to act in our video, we decided to keep the actors in our group as we thought this would be easier as we knew, as a group, what we wanted to achieve, so instead of having to relay our ideas to other people who may not understand the kind of things we wanted do with our video, we decided to use myself and Cody for the main actors for our video.
In a similar sense, we decided not to ask people to be extras for our video as all the locations we are using are city centre locations that are always highly populated with people which works well with the distorting concept of our video.
We chose to cast people of our age in the video is essentially about two teenagers, ones who is fixated on the thought of being in love with a certain girl, who may be a figure of his imagination.
MALE CHARACTER Our male character is a seemingly secretive and closed off person. Cody can easily achieve this, with his costume; it’s extremely easy to create the representations we wanted. Cody isn’t a drama student which we thought, for both characters, could cause issues, but we realised our roles are simple enough that it will be easy to create the images we wanted to, regardless of whether we are drama students.
FEMALE CHARACTER I am taking the role of the female character. This is a fairly simple role, and as I'm not a drama student, it is easy for me to carry out. Our female character is a very illusive and, in a sense, mysterious character in that we, as the audience don't know if she actually exists. Although, I’m 17 and Cody is 18, we felt this would fit perfectly with what we were trying to achieve with our portrayal of our characters, as like many teenagers, we are showing them to be extremely closed off and secretive people who are extremely susceptible to ‘love’ even when it doesn’t really exist.
MALE CHARACTER Our male character is a seemingly secretive and closed off person. Cody can easily achieve this, with his costume; it’s extremely easy to create the representations we wanted. Cody isn’t a drama student which we thought, for both characters, could cause issues, but we realised our roles are simple enough that it will be easy to create the images we wanted to, regardless of whether we are drama students.
FEMALE CHARACTER I am taking the role of the female character. This is a fairly simple role, and as I'm not a drama student, it is easy for me to carry out. Our female character is a very illusive and, in a sense, mysterious character in that we, as the audience don't know if she actually exists. Although, I’m 17 and Cody is 18, we felt this would fit perfectly with what we were trying to achieve with our portrayal of our characters, as like many teenagers, we are showing them to be extremely closed off and secretive people who are extremely susceptible to ‘love’ even when it doesn’t really exist.
Thursday 27 October 2016
Thursday 6 October 2016
how are the conventions of the psychedelic genre evident in ASAP Rockys video for L$D
Our chosen song "Tidal Wave" can't really be defined by one genre so for this piece I will focus on its roots in the psychedelic genre. Although famous for his rap career, ASAP Rockys L$D is one of his most well known and popular songs. The song itself has a very modern psychedelic feel to it and this is made even more obvious in its music video. Tempesst's video for Tidal Wave is also very psychedelic so I believe it is a good match.
The song was released on May 21, 2015 and is the 3rd from Rockys second studio album. As of 2015 the album has been certified gold for selling the equivalent of 500,000 copies. ASAP Rocky is a rapper and record producer from Harlem, New York. Born on October 3 1988, Rocky started rapping at the age of 8 with his father going to jail in connection with selling drugs when he was the age of 12 and later died in 2012. A year later his older brother was killed in Harlem, his brothers death inspired him to take rapping more seriously. To make money, Rocky was selling drugs while moving between homeless shelters with his single mother and sister, at the age of 15 he was selling crack cocaine in the Bronx. He eventually moved away from this with his mother to midtown Manhattan. In 2007 Rocky joined the A$AP Mob, a Harlem based collective of rappers, producers and fashion designers with similar interests in art, music etc. In 2011 Rocky released his first mixtape Deep Purple, in August 2011 Rockys debut single Peso was leaked online and received airtime from Hot 97, a high profile New York radio station. In October of that year he released the mixtape Live. Love. A$AP to critical acclaim and signed himself a two year $3 million record deal.
From the start, the video features a variety of visual effects, included in the video to mimic the effects of psychedelic drugs. The wikipedia entry for psychedelic music states that musicians creating music in the genre often "used electric instruments and electronic effects–notably the lead electric guitar played with heavy distortion". Present throughout is the use of a heavily distorted guitar rift showing that the song follows the conventions of the genre. The video itself is set in the city of Tokyo, the location and idea for the video is heavily inspired by the film "Enter the Void" a heavily first person film shot from the perspective of a psychedelic drug user living in Tokyo.
When looking at the mise en scene for the music video it is very clear what it has borrowed from the psychedelic genre. From the two inserts the similarity between the film Enter the Void and the video is very clear. One convention of the psychedelic genre is that media that conveys it is often set in almost exotic locations, in the way that not many people visit the places, know what they look like and just how foreign they generally look compared to mundane England. Tokyo is such a different looking city that is very easy to use it to create the effects of a psychedelic trip and to then present this to the viewer. Using Tokyo as the location for the video really helps create a psychedelic atmosphere, with all the different lights, locations and objects.
The colour pallet used throughout the video is heavily inspired by what psychedelic users claim to see whilst tripping, with an intense, vibrant, range of different colours and light effects. These conventions of the psychedelic genre being present help create the image that ASAP Rocky is trying to portray, as he said in his interview with Times magazine "Giving people drugs through music"
Another way the psychedelic genres conventions are followed in the video is at the point of 0.39 where the editing and camera work takes the narrative to another location by going into a tail light of a car and then coming out again from a fire place in an entirely new location ( an idea we want to explore for the filming of our music video). By creating a surreal location change from two contrasting environments it really helps represent what people claim to see when tripping and creates a psychedelic atmosphere.
Goodwins theory of music videos can be applied to the video, one of Goodwins points is that music videos can be linked to film genres, known as intertexuality, the music video is clearly linked to film Enter the Void. Another of Goodwins points is that there is a relationship between the music and visuals. In the music video the shots cut and change to the beat of the song, helping to create a stronger bond between the two and makes for a more enjoyable viewing experience.
Goodwin also stated that the record label will want lots of close ups of the artist and this is evident throughout the music video with there being many different shots of Rocky at a variety of distances and a range of different angles. Finally, another of Goodwins points is that there are often intertextual references, as seen from the screenshots above, Rocky even credited his idea for the music video to be from the movie Enter the Void, both pieces of media are set in the city of Tokyo. The colour pallet between the two is also very similar along with the visual effects.
The song was released on May 21, 2015 and is the 3rd from Rockys second studio album. As of 2015 the album has been certified gold for selling the equivalent of 500,000 copies. ASAP Rocky is a rapper and record producer from Harlem, New York. Born on October 3 1988, Rocky started rapping at the age of 8 with his father going to jail in connection with selling drugs when he was the age of 12 and later died in 2012. A year later his older brother was killed in Harlem, his brothers death inspired him to take rapping more seriously. To make money, Rocky was selling drugs while moving between homeless shelters with his single mother and sister, at the age of 15 he was selling crack cocaine in the Bronx. He eventually moved away from this with his mother to midtown Manhattan. In 2007 Rocky joined the A$AP Mob, a Harlem based collective of rappers, producers and fashion designers with similar interests in art, music etc. In 2011 Rocky released his first mixtape Deep Purple, in August 2011 Rockys debut single Peso was leaked online and received airtime from Hot 97, a high profile New York radio station. In October of that year he released the mixtape Live. Love. A$AP to critical acclaim and signed himself a two year $3 million record deal.
From the start, the video features a variety of visual effects, included in the video to mimic the effects of psychedelic drugs. The wikipedia entry for psychedelic music states that musicians creating music in the genre often "used electric instruments and electronic effects–notably the lead electric guitar played with heavy distortion". Present throughout is the use of a heavily distorted guitar rift showing that the song follows the conventions of the genre. The video itself is set in the city of Tokyo, the location and idea for the video is heavily inspired by the film "Enter the Void" a heavily first person film shot from the perspective of a psychedelic drug user living in Tokyo.
When looking at the mise en scene for the music video it is very clear what it has borrowed from the psychedelic genre. From the two inserts the similarity between the film Enter the Void and the video is very clear. One convention of the psychedelic genre is that media that conveys it is often set in almost exotic locations, in the way that not many people visit the places, know what they look like and just how foreign they generally look compared to mundane England. Tokyo is such a different looking city that is very easy to use it to create the effects of a psychedelic trip and to then present this to the viewer. Using Tokyo as the location for the video really helps create a psychedelic atmosphere, with all the different lights, locations and objects.
The colour pallet used throughout the video is heavily inspired by what psychedelic users claim to see whilst tripping, with an intense, vibrant, range of different colours and light effects. These conventions of the psychedelic genre being present help create the image that ASAP Rocky is trying to portray, as he said in his interview with Times magazine "Giving people drugs through music"
Another way the psychedelic genres conventions are followed in the video is at the point of 0.39 where the editing and camera work takes the narrative to another location by going into a tail light of a car and then coming out again from a fire place in an entirely new location ( an idea we want to explore for the filming of our music video). By creating a surreal location change from two contrasting environments it really helps represent what people claim to see when tripping and creates a psychedelic atmosphere.
Goodwins theory of music videos can be applied to the video, one of Goodwins points is that music videos can be linked to film genres, known as intertexuality, the music video is clearly linked to film Enter the Void. Another of Goodwins points is that there is a relationship between the music and visuals. In the music video the shots cut and change to the beat of the song, helping to create a stronger bond between the two and makes for a more enjoyable viewing experience.
Goodwin also stated that the record label will want lots of close ups of the artist and this is evident throughout the music video with there being many different shots of Rocky at a variety of distances and a range of different angles. Finally, another of Goodwins points is that there are often intertextual references, as seen from the screenshots above, Rocky even credited his idea for the music video to be from the movie Enter the Void, both pieces of media are set in the city of Tokyo. The colour pallet between the two is also very similar along with the visual effects.
Thursday 1 September 2016
Song Possibilities / Strengths & Weaknesses
When deciding our song that we would create a music video for, we created a web chart that measured our shortlist of songs on their; broadness of genre, distinctive lyrics, sound recording quality, distinct beat, use of different sections/chapters, and changes in dynamics/intensity.
We came up with a list of 4 songs;
19 again - Shiners
Tidal wave - Tempesst (NEW chosen song)
Sometimes - Family friends
If the birds wish to fly, let them fly - Corey Bowen (our chosen song, until he deleted all copies of it from the internet and shut down all of his social media pages without explanation)
Each song had strengths and weaknesses to them and we decided in the end to go with Corey Bowens song.
Strengths
- Distinct lyric "You make me feel 19 again"
- Professional recording quality
- Change in intensity, although not for very long
Weaknesses
- Whole song is one chapter, no significant changes, makes it hard to introduce new elements into the music video.
-Beat is good but not very distinct, hard to find a place to cut on.
-Not a broad genre
Strengths
- Unique genre and sound, very psychedelic.
- Professional high recording quality.
- Distinct lyric "Riding on a tidal wave, floating in from out of space"
- Different chapters, song intensity slows at a later stage in the song which could be used to progress the music video, it then picks up intensity again as the guitar rifts begin, this also acts as a different chapter, along with the chorus the song has 4 different chapters.
Weaknesses
- Hard to find a distinct beat which could be cut on.
Strengths
- Distinct part of beat which could be used effectively for cutting.
-Style of song changes throughout, different sections are very useful for adding in new elements.
- Professional recording quality.
- Hybrid of genres, more able to be creative with ideas
Weakness
- Lack of a distinct lyric
- Hard to make a music video for, not much to focus on and pick out from the song.
Strengths
-Distinct lyric, "If the birds wish to fly, you should let them fly"
-Changes in the dynamic of the song, easy to identify chapters. One of the reasons we chose this song is that it has many changes in the dynamic which help to create chapters and this makes it easier to introduce new elements to the music video.
- Not the most distinct beat I have ever heard but there is a part of it which will work well to cut to.
- Most hybrid genre out of the shortlist, mixes indie/rock/psychedelic & even a bit of electronic into one.
- Professional recording quality
Weaknesses
- Could possibly have more lyrics to help create the video around.
We came up with a list of 4 songs;
19 again - Shiners
Tidal wave - Tempesst (NEW chosen song)
Sometimes - Family friends
If the birds wish to fly, let them fly - Corey Bowen (our chosen song, until he deleted all copies of it from the internet and shut down all of his social media pages without explanation)
Each song had strengths and weaknesses to them and we decided in the end to go with Corey Bowens song.
Strengths
- Distinct lyric "You make me feel 19 again"
- Professional recording quality
- Change in intensity, although not for very long
Weaknesses
- Whole song is one chapter, no significant changes, makes it hard to introduce new elements into the music video.
-Beat is good but not very distinct, hard to find a place to cut on.
-Not a broad genre
Strengths
- Unique genre and sound, very psychedelic.
- Professional high recording quality.
- Distinct lyric "Riding on a tidal wave, floating in from out of space"
- Different chapters, song intensity slows at a later stage in the song which could be used to progress the music video, it then picks up intensity again as the guitar rifts begin, this also acts as a different chapter, along with the chorus the song has 4 different chapters.
Weaknesses
- Hard to find a distinct beat which could be cut on.
Strengths
- Distinct part of beat which could be used effectively for cutting.
-Style of song changes throughout, different sections are very useful for adding in new elements.
- Professional recording quality.
- Hybrid of genres, more able to be creative with ideas
Weakness
- Lack of a distinct lyric
- Hard to make a music video for, not much to focus on and pick out from the song.
Strengths
-Distinct lyric, "If the birds wish to fly, you should let them fly"
-Changes in the dynamic of the song, easy to identify chapters. One of the reasons we chose this song is that it has many changes in the dynamic which help to create chapters and this makes it easier to introduce new elements to the music video.
- Not the most distinct beat I have ever heard but there is a part of it which will work well to cut to.
- Most hybrid genre out of the shortlist, mixes indie/rock/psychedelic & even a bit of electronic into one.
- Professional recording quality
Weaknesses
- Could possibly have more lyrics to help create the video around.
Wednesday 31 August 2016
Applying Goodwins theory of music videos, Kendrick Lamar - i
I will be applying Goodwins theory of music videos to the song "i" by Kendrick Lamar. One of the features of Goodwins theory is that videos demonstrate genre characteristics. The music video to i features a performance / narative which is typical of rap music videos. Shots of Kendrick performing are interlinked with shots him walking through Compton and witnessing the tribulations of everyday life for people living in the ghetto.
The second part of Goodwins theory states that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. This is present in the music video as when Kendrick mentions police in his song there is then a shot of a man being arrested by the police. Although its not directly the lyrics, the video changes it tone as the tone of the song changes. When Kendrick is rapping about negative things the tone of the video is darker and more saddening, we are shown hardships and struggles, where as when the song gets to the chorus, the video is much more upbeat and positive with people dancing with Kendrick in the streets, symbolic of the idea that life always gets better and this represents the hope that Kendrick provides to Compton, showing the people that you can be whoever you want to be in life. The lyric "I love myself" is repeated in the happier shots. When the tone of the song completely changes with Kendricks last verse, the beat and instrumental becomes much more chaotic as does the video with Kendrick then hanging out the window of the car and with the camera becoming unstable.
Goodwins theory claims that the record label will want many close up shots of the artist and that artists may develop a motif that stretches across all their videos. The video features so many shots of Kendrick at different angles and ranges so the video fits that criteria. Many of Kendricks videos are similar to this with them being performance videos also featuring other content, for example King Kunta which I have written another blog post on.
Finally, the theory states that there are often inter-textual references to other medias, the video features many things which are present in Kendricks other videos and also other rap videos such as low rider Impalas.
The second part of Goodwins theory states that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. This is present in the music video as when Kendrick mentions police in his song there is then a shot of a man being arrested by the police. Although its not directly the lyrics, the video changes it tone as the tone of the song changes. When Kendrick is rapping about negative things the tone of the video is darker and more saddening, we are shown hardships and struggles, where as when the song gets to the chorus, the video is much more upbeat and positive with people dancing with Kendrick in the streets, symbolic of the idea that life always gets better and this represents the hope that Kendrick provides to Compton, showing the people that you can be whoever you want to be in life. The lyric "I love myself" is repeated in the happier shots. When the tone of the song completely changes with Kendricks last verse, the beat and instrumental becomes much more chaotic as does the video with Kendrick then hanging out the window of the car and with the camera becoming unstable.
Goodwins theory claims that the record label will want many close up shots of the artist and that artists may develop a motif that stretches across all their videos. The video features so many shots of Kendrick at different angles and ranges so the video fits that criteria. Many of Kendricks videos are similar to this with them being performance videos also featuring other content, for example King Kunta which I have written another blog post on.
Finally, the theory states that there are often inter-textual references to other medias, the video features many things which are present in Kendricks other videos and also other rap videos such as low rider Impalas.
Wednesday 24 August 2016
How do music videos use media language?
I will be exploring how different media language is used to create the imagery of old school rap videos in the music video to King Kunta by Kendrick Lamar. The video itself features typical characteristics of old school rap videos and plays on these genre typical features, in context tho, this is done purposefully as non of Kendricks other videos are like this. Its satire in the way that people who don't listen rap/ hip hop typically perceive the genre to be all about money/women etc when in fact its much deeper than that.
Mise en scene is used in the music video to establish the video as a typical "gangster rap" video. The video starts with a shot of a sign saying Compton and is followed by a shot of a low rider car, a vehicle present in many rap videos from the late 90's/ early 2000's.
This immediately helps set the tone of the video and establishes what content will be present. By starting the video with this shot of the Compton sign we know that the video is shot in Compton, where Kendrick grew up. Showing where your from in rap videos has been done in rap videos since they were first made as there is a lot of rivalry between rappers from different parts of America.
This leads onto the idea of costume. The majority of people in the video are wearing red in some part of their outfit, this is because the area of Compton where Kendrick grew up in is Pirus Bloods territory and this is represented through the use of the colour red. In contrast to this, Kendrick is shown wearing neutral colours and even a blue hat at some point, this signifies that even tho Kendrick could of easily got caught up in the gang culture, he kept his head straight and with hes fame he is trying to reduce the conflict between the two gangs of Compton, Crips and Bloods. Many other rap videos feature. The mise en scene in the video fits the genre, it focuses on material things like, low rider cars, big chains and barely dressed women, you can see these features present in the majority of old school rap videos like Dr Dre's "Still Dre" and "Nothin but a G thang". Kendrick uses these features to make it clear that the video is imitating previous videos.
The editing of the music video creates an upbeat and energetic atmosphere which matches the energy of the song. From the start, Kendrick raps on video in sync to the lyrics from his song. This makes the viewer focus on him throughout and is used to progress the music video. By having the video cut to the beat of the song, its creates a much stronger link between the two and makes it more enjoyable to watch. Instead of using tripods and steady shots, the video features a mix of professional, steady, well framed shots and a bunch of shaky,handheld almost amateur shots. This is done on purpose to mimic the handheld shots used in old school rap videos as Kendrick is trying to mimic them. This is also achieved through using a 4:3 aspect ratio instead of modern day widescreen shots, its all done to create the feeling and atmosphere of old school rap videos.
Featuring many conventions typical of the rap genre, Kendricks video could be seen as a stereotypical gangster rap video. The video focuses mainly on him performing which is typical or rap music videos. It focuses on material wealth with many shots of material things like cars, gold chains and women. It is easy to see the similarities between this video and other old school rap videos such as videos by Dre and Snoop.
Mise en scene is used in the music video to establish the video as a typical "gangster rap" video. The video starts with a shot of a sign saying Compton and is followed by a shot of a low rider car, a vehicle present in many rap videos from the late 90's/ early 2000's.
This immediately helps set the tone of the video and establishes what content will be present. By starting the video with this shot of the Compton sign we know that the video is shot in Compton, where Kendrick grew up. Showing where your from in rap videos has been done in rap videos since they were first made as there is a lot of rivalry between rappers from different parts of America.
This leads onto the idea of costume. The majority of people in the video are wearing red in some part of their outfit, this is because the area of Compton where Kendrick grew up in is Pirus Bloods territory and this is represented through the use of the colour red. In contrast to this, Kendrick is shown wearing neutral colours and even a blue hat at some point, this signifies that even tho Kendrick could of easily got caught up in the gang culture, he kept his head straight and with hes fame he is trying to reduce the conflict between the two gangs of Compton, Crips and Bloods. Many other rap videos feature. The mise en scene in the video fits the genre, it focuses on material things like, low rider cars, big chains and barely dressed women, you can see these features present in the majority of old school rap videos like Dr Dre's "Still Dre" and "Nothin but a G thang". Kendrick uses these features to make it clear that the video is imitating previous videos.
The editing of the music video creates an upbeat and energetic atmosphere which matches the energy of the song. From the start, Kendrick raps on video in sync to the lyrics from his song. This makes the viewer focus on him throughout and is used to progress the music video. By having the video cut to the beat of the song, its creates a much stronger link between the two and makes it more enjoyable to watch. Instead of using tripods and steady shots, the video features a mix of professional, steady, well framed shots and a bunch of shaky,handheld almost amateur shots. This is done on purpose to mimic the handheld shots used in old school rap videos as Kendrick is trying to mimic them. This is also achieved through using a 4:3 aspect ratio instead of modern day widescreen shots, its all done to create the feeling and atmosphere of old school rap videos.
Featuring many conventions typical of the rap genre, Kendricks video could be seen as a stereotypical gangster rap video. The video focuses mainly on him performing which is typical or rap music videos. It focuses on material wealth with many shots of material things like cars, gold chains and women. It is easy to see the similarities between this video and other old school rap videos such as videos by Dre and Snoop.
Tuesday 23 August 2016
Applying Andrew Goodwins theory of music videos
Many of Andrew Goodwins points listed in his theory of music videos are present throughout the music video in the song "Grapevine Fires" by Death Cab for Cutie.
There is a strong link between the story told by the music video and the story told by the song from the start of the music video. By having a music video which mimics the lyrics of the song, a much more stronger link is formed between them and this helps create a story more effectively. The music video features a dark and emotional interpretation of the songs lyrics with lyrics such as "we all burn" being constantly repeated and paired with visual images of a town burning. The lyrics tell a story which matches what is shown on the screen which helps create a more in depth and detailed story.
There is a relationship between the music and the visuals in the way that the music video cuts on the beat of the song. This helps create a link between the song and the video and is demonstrated as when the tempo of the song increases, so does the tempo of the music video, at the start there is a single character as the tempo increases more are introduced, there are more cuts, and the song and video both become more intense. More imagery of fire is used as the video progresses which links to the tempo of the song as more destruction is being caused as it increases. This also links with how the music video gets darker and eventually peaks with one character catching on fire.
One of Goodwins points is that artists may develop a motif which reoccurs throughout their work. Death Cab for Cutie has a clear motif in their use of 2D animations to tell a story. The same thing as in this video is done in their other music video "Good help is hard to find" both videos also use the same type face and its clear that the band likes this type of music video.
The video contains frequent references to the notion of looking, the characters in the video look into a photo frame which acts as a screen within a screen, and then the video cuts to the scene from inside the photo frame.
In conclusion, the song "Grapevine Fires" demonstrates some of the points listed in Goodwins theory.
There is a strong link between the story told by the music video and the story told by the song from the start of the music video. By having a music video which mimics the lyrics of the song, a much more stronger link is formed between them and this helps create a story more effectively. The music video features a dark and emotional interpretation of the songs lyrics with lyrics such as "we all burn" being constantly repeated and paired with visual images of a town burning. The lyrics tell a story which matches what is shown on the screen which helps create a more in depth and detailed story.
There is a relationship between the music and the visuals in the way that the music video cuts on the beat of the song. This helps create a link between the song and the video and is demonstrated as when the tempo of the song increases, so does the tempo of the music video, at the start there is a single character as the tempo increases more are introduced, there are more cuts, and the song and video both become more intense. More imagery of fire is used as the video progresses which links to the tempo of the song as more destruction is being caused as it increases. This also links with how the music video gets darker and eventually peaks with one character catching on fire.
One of Goodwins points is that artists may develop a motif which reoccurs throughout their work. Death Cab for Cutie has a clear motif in their use of 2D animations to tell a story. The same thing as in this video is done in their other music video "Good help is hard to find" both videos also use the same type face and its clear that the band likes this type of music video.
The video contains frequent references to the notion of looking, the characters in the video look into a photo frame which acts as a screen within a screen, and then the video cuts to the scene from inside the photo frame.
In conclusion, the song "Grapevine Fires" demonstrates some of the points listed in Goodwins theory.
Thursday 14 July 2016
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I will be exploring how different media language is used to create the imagery of old school rap videos in the music video to King Kunta by ... -
Many of Andrew Goodwins points listed in his theory of music videos are present throughout the music video in the song "Grapevine Fires...
